Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy VD! So What Is A Rose?

It's Valentine's Day and hopefully you've all gotten cards and chocolate and flowers from/for loved ones. If not, then you better get hopping. This raises a question though. Why do we give roses? What exactly is a rose that it deserves this place of honor?

Obviously, a rose is a flower. It is an expensive flower that sucks water like it's going out of style, but it's also a beautiful flower. And its more than that. In Ancient Greece, the rose was considered sacred by followers of the goddess Isis. In the novel "The Golden Ass," (which should be the name of the Kardashian story) a rose saved the hero from being bewitched and spending his life as a donkey. Clearly, Obama was not so saved. The rose was then identified with the goddess of love Aphrodite (and then the Roman version Venus). So it became ass-ociated with romance. ;-)

Not to be outdone, Medieval Christians associated it with the Virgin Mary, though what a virgin knows about romance is beyond me, and they attributed the five pedals to the wounds of Christ. The rose then became the symbol of England, because the British are natural romantics (just like the Germans and grizzly bears). Others adopted it as well, like socialists.

In any event, despite a few dubious connections, the rose remains the symbol of romance today. Is this why we give it? Perhaps. But let's think about this a little more closely. What is the point in giving a rose? Ultimately, a rose is pretty worthless. It will wilt and die in a couple days and suddenly your gift is lost. So wouldn't you be better off buying something that will last like a book the person may enjoy or a dishwasher?

Maybe not.

See, advertising works on a strange principle where both the company and its target market know that any spending the company makes on advertising will be lost if the company misbehaves. Essentially, advertising spending becomes a bond the company offers the public: if we perform, then our advertising has value, if we fail, then it becomes worthless. And the more a company spends, the greater the bond.

Perhaps giving a useless gift like a rose is the same thing? By throwing money away on a non-practical gift, you are essentially offering a bond. You are putting your money to use to buy something that only has value so long as your target continues to care about your relationship. If you bought that dishwasher, by comparison, then you could presumably split it if you broke up and get some value out of it, you can't do this with a long-dead flower. So maybe that is what is going on here? Maybe, you are telling your beloved that you are willing to waste money to prove to them just how much your relationship is really worth it.

Interesting.

In any event, remember your loved ones today because they are what count in your life. So go do something nice and let them know how you feel about them. And if they aren't sufficiently appreciative, then remember that Commentarama loves you more. :D

29 comments:

AndrewPrice said...

BTW, 1-800-FLOWERS needs to stop emailing me... now.

Anonymous said...

Eh, my mother bought me some Reese's Pieces that came in a heart-shaped box. I also bought myself one big heart-shaped Reese's that came in a heart-shaped box. :-)

And this showed up in my Facebook feed.

Eh, whatever. I doubt my asexual lady friend is celebrating. (I posted a photo of her and me on Facebook and it seemed to function like a Rorschach test - I stated that we were just friends but everyone who commented saw what they wanted to see! I took the photo down.)

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, There are some tasty treats out at this time of year. Ditto on Halloween.

That's great that your grandmother sent you something. :)

Anonymous said...

??

I said my mother bought it for me. Both my grandmothers are no longer alive.

(Of course, if either of them want to send some good vibes my way, I'm open!) :-)

AndrewPrice said...

Huh, I swore I read "grandmother." Ok, then it's great that your mom bought it for you. Hopefully you got her something?

Anonymous said...

Uh... yeah. Sure I did.

Be right back.

[runs to the car]

[door SLAMS]

[tires SCREECH!!!]

:-)

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, Scott, Scott. Fortunately, drug stores are prepared for this occasion! :)

tryanmax said...

CVS is there for you, Scott.

AndrewPrice said...

That's funny!

Kit said...

Several conservatives, especially on the Socially Conservative end, have recently shown a love of Russian Dictator and thug Vladimir Putin.
LINK

AndrewPrice said...

Well, Putin does hate all the people they hate, and that is what drives them.

Now just imagine how much stronger their crush would be if he badmouthed Boehner! Pat Buchanan would probably get Putin's face tattooed on his chest... right next to his tattoo of Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Kit said...

I thought it was Hitler Pat liked.

AndrewPrice said...

In all seriousness, I understand he has praised Hitler, which isn't surprising. What is surprising is that Buchanan is the intellectual godfather of the modern conservative fringe. Blech.

Kit said...

"What is surprising is that Buchanan is the intellectual godfather of the modern conservative fringe."

Alas, he is.

AndrewPrice said...

What I find really amazing, by the way, on this point, is that the fringe actually thinks they are following Reagan when they hold the opposite views Reagan held on almost every issue. They really are following Pat Buchanan, who was the anti-Reagan.

Koshcat said...

I refuse to celebrate Valentine's day if nothing else than because of things the spoof CVS ad shows.

AndrewPrice said...

Koshcat, It is an annoying commercialized holiday. I never give cards for any holiday for that reason. Still, I look to the underlying sentiment.

BevfromNYC said...

Phhhptt....men. Don't you like forced romance?

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I'm all about romance. :D

Rustbelt said...

Speaking on behalf of all the empty, cynically jaded who think this whole stinkin' holiday and the entire concept of "luv" was made up solely to sell cards/bad movie tickets/keep the chocolate industry from drowning and who have given up any chance of finding romance/passion/whatever in this lifetime...

Valentine's Day stinks.

The only thing worth remembering is that today is the 85th anniversary of the day Bugs's people met Al's people. Ah, the good old days...

As for roses...um, I know former Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville had a habit of sending black roses to guys who deserted his coaching staff for better jobs. Other than that, I got nothin'.

AndrewPrice said...

Oh Rustbelt... so, so dark my friend. Cheer up! There's bound to be an MST3k loving woman out there for you somewhere! Maybe even two! :D

As for Glanville, he's just being cheap. Black roses are much cheaper that horses heads! They're easier to send through the mail too.

Rustbelt said...

I can only hope and dream, Andrew. I can only hope and dream.

And, yeah, Glanville was pretty cheap. He at least could've had a voodoo curse put on the roses before he sent them out.

AndrewPrice said...

She's out there my friend. And for a fee, I'm sure they'll RiffTrax your wedding! :D

Backthrow said...

In matters of the heart, I always defer to the sage wisdom of the late Anthony Quinn.

Rustbelt said...

RiffTrax the wedding?! That's scary. Mainly because I'd probably provide more material than Bert I. Gordon, Hal Warren, and Michael Bay combined!

Critch said...

I've always bought my wife jewelry, because it lasts longer than flowers...and we're both penny-pinchers at heart...

AndrewPrice said...

A wise choice, Critch.

Speaking of jewelry, did anyone read about the "chocolate diamonds." They are advertising these things as if they are something special and they are apparently charging a premium for them. But it turns out that it's pure marketing. In reality, the world is awash in brown diamonds. They are so common that they have in the past only sold them for commercial use (like putting on blades) because they are so cheap.

Interesting. I guess it's working. I do need to admit that I like the color.

AndrewPrice said...

Backthrow, And interesting monologue for sure.

AndrewPrice said...

Rustbelt, I'll bet that fans would LOVE to have their wedding videos RiffTraxed.

Post a Comment